Federal Parent PLUS Loans

Parents of undergraduate students can apply for Federal Parent PLUS Loans for their dependent children.

On this page:

Eligibility Requirements

High Debt Warning

The Federal PLUS Loan program usually offers lower borrowing costs than private loans and includes several additional benefits, but because the process only checks for a bad credit history and doesn't evaluate your ability to afford your loan payments based on your debt to income ratio, it is easy to get approved for more than you can afford to repay. Please carefully evaluate how much you can afford to repay.

This Consumer Reports article recommends borrowing less than your annual income.

PLUS Loan Limits

To borrow PLUS Loans, every year, you must submit a new FAFSA and wait for the student’s Award Notification, which will explain your maximum PLUS loan amounts. 

You can use PLUS loans to help pay TU charges and other living and personal expenses. To estimate your remaining costs after your other aid, use our Remaining Costs Worksheet. If you want to borrow extra to compensate for the 4.228% disbursement fees, use this formula: Target loan disbursement amount divided by 0.95712 = Adjusted Loan Request Amount.

For 2026-2027 and beyond, the maximum PLUS loan amounts decreased. 

  • These new limits apply to all 26-27 freshmen and transfer admits. 
  • They also apply to returning TU students who don’t meet the legacy rules below.

New PLUS Limits

  • Annual PLUS loans can’t exceed $20,000/year or the PLUS Budget Limit, whichever is lower.
  • PLUS Budget Limit = Cost of Attendance Budget - Total Other Aid.
  • Aggregate PLUS Loans can’t exceed $65,000.

Because the aggregate limit is $65,000, you can’t borrow $20,000 per year for four years. If you borrowed $20,000 for your first three years, you could only borrow $5,000 for your fourth year. ($65,000 divided by 4 years is $16,250 per year.)

These are per student limits, not per parent limits. Parents with several children can borrow these limits for each child. If both parents borrow PLUS loans for the same student, that students’ total PLUS loans can’t exceed these limits.

If you want to borrow more than these PLUS limits, you could also apply for private loans.

Legacy PLUS Limits

If you took classes at TU before Fall 2026, you might be eligible to continue borrowing under the old higher PLUS loan limits for some additional semesters.

If you are eligible for a legacy extension, your annual PLUS Loans just can’t exceed your PLUS Budget Limit (Annual Cost of Attendance Budget - Total Other Aid). The new $20,000 annual and $65,000 aggregate limits would not apply to you during your legacy borrowing semesters.

To apply for PLUS loans, every year you must submit a new FAFSA and wait for your TU Award Notification. If you were enrolled at TU before Fall 2026, your award notification email will include your estimated legacy status and estimated legacy years or semesters. The maximum legacy extension is 3 more academic years.

If you aren’t eligible for any legacy extension or after your legacy extension ends, you will be subject to the New PLUS Limits above. Then, all your previous PLUS loans from all schools will retroactively count against the new aggregate $65,000 limit. If you haven’t reached that limit yet, your parents can continue applying for additional PLUS loans until you reach it. Once you reach the $65,000 aggregate limit, you can’t borrow any more PLUS loans.

Legacy Limit Rules

To qualify for PLUS legacy status, students must meet all these requirements:

  • Must have taken classes at TU for your bachelor’s degree before Fall 2026.
  • Must have borrowed a previous federal student or parent loan at TU that was disbursed by TU before July 1, 2026.
  • Must still be pursuing your first bachelor’s degree. *
  • Must have remaining Legacy Years based on the Legacy Years formula below.

Retaining Legacy Status

If you qualify for legacy status, to retain that status, you must enroll at TU for every fall and spring semester and can’t ever withdraw from all your fall or spring classes. If you skip or withdraw from a fall or spring semester at TU, you lose legacy status and become subject to the New PLUS limits when you return. 

*If you were working on a 2nd bachelor's degree and received federal loans for it at TU before the deadlines above, you might also qualify for legacy status.

Formula: 4 years – the total academic years you were already enrolled before fall 2026, or a maximum of 3 years, whichever is less.

  • If you were previously enrolled for one academic year, you might qualify for a 3-year legacy extension (2026-27, 2027-28, and 2028-29).
  • If you were previously enrolled for 2 academic years, you might qualify for a 2-year legacy extension,
  • If you were previous enrolled for 3 academic years, you might qualify for a 1-year legacy extension.
  • If you were previous enrolled for 3.5 academic years, you might qualify for a one semester legacy extension.
  • If you were previous enrolled for 4 academic years, you won’t qualify for any legacy extension.

Federal regulations prohibit legacy extensions for any reasons including part-time enrollment.

Because the U.S. Department of Education has not provided adequate guidance yet on how to calculate previous years of enrollment for students with transfer or summer courses, we don’t know how those courses will change the estimated legacy years above.

Interest Rates, Fees and Repayment

Interest Rates

  • For PLUS Loans first disbursed from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, the interest rate is 9.07%.
  • For PLUS Loans first disbursed from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, the interest rate is 8.94%.

Disbursement Fees

PLUS Loan Disbursement Fees will be deducted from each loan disbursement.

For loans first disbursed between Oct. 1, 2020 and Oct. 1, 2027, the fee is 4.228% of the disbursed amount.

Repayment Period

The repayment period for principal and interest begins the day after the loan has been fully disbursed, and the first payment is due 60 days later. Example: A Fall-Spring PLUS Loan will enter repayment after the spring loan is disbursed. 

You can choose to defer repayment until your child graduates, but that option increases your borrowing costs.

Use the Loan Simulator to estimate your monthly payments.

Application Instructions

Before a parent can submit a PLUS application, the student and parent must submit a new FAFSA and wait for the student’s Award Notification, which will explain your maximum PLUS loan amounts. This must be done every year.

2026-2027 Loan Period

  • Fall 26 - Spring 27: 8/2026-5/2027

2025-2026 Loan Periods

  • Fall 25 - Spring 26: 8/2025-5/2026
  • Spring 26: 1/2026-5/2026
  • Summer 26: 5/2026-8/2026

PLUS Request Instructions

  • Go to studentaid.gov/plus-app/parent/landing
  • The parent borrower must log in with the parent's Federal Student Aid ID.
  • Choose Request a Direct PLUS Loan and complete the application.
  • Rebate Options: To avoid rebate check delays, under Credit Balance Options, choose "The Student." (Parent rebate checks take several weeks longer.)
  • A few days after you submit the application, you should receive an email reply with your credit check results.

PLUS MPN for New Borrowers

The Master Promissory Note (MPN) is the parent borrower’s contract to repay the loan.

  • New PLUS borrowers at TU must also visit studentaid.gov/mpn/ to complete a PLUS MPN for Parents.
  • Repeat parent borrowers should confirm that their MPN is already on file by visiting studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in then My Loan Documents → Completed MPNs.

Application Tips and Common Errors

  • Pay careful attention to which fields want student identity data and which fields want parent borrower data.
  • Enter full legal names for the student and the parent borrower.
  • One parent is the borrower and that parent must complete all PLUS steps (Application and MPN).
  • The Loan Period can’t exceed one academic year.
  • You must reapply annually.

PLUS Disbursements

Each semester, your PLUS Loan funds will be disbursed to the student’s TU account to help pay their university charges. Any remaining funds will be disbursed to the student or the parent as a financial aid rebate (depending on the rebate option the parent borrower selected).

Four to six weeks after the parent completes these steps and the student has registered for classes; your PLUS funds will appear on your TU bill as Anticipated Aid.

To view the TU eBill, students can login to their Towson Online Services Student Dashboard. Then, from the main Navigation Menu, choose Financials, and What I Owe.

Rebates When Two Parents Borrow

If two divorced/separated parents borrow separate PLUS loans for the same student, and the total semester aid exceeds the semester charges and creates any aid rebates, TU can't control how aid rebates will be distributed between the two parents. To avoid rebate problems, when borrowing the loan on the federal website, both parents should specify that the rebate should be issued to the student, and then the student and parents must coordinate how those rebate funds will be managed by the student or redistributed between the parents.

PLUS Loan Denial Options

If the federal loan processor denied your PLUS loan because of an adverse credit history, you can appeal the denial, obtain an endorser, or request additional unsubsidized student loans.

Appeal the Denial

If you feel the reason that the PLUS loan was denied is no longer valid, you may appeal the credit decision with Federal Student Aid. 

  1. The parent borrower must log into studentaid.gov/appeal-credit/ with their FSA ID. 
  2. Under PLUS Loan Process select Document Extenuating Circumstances.
  3. Submit documentation showing the denial reason is no longer valid. If approved, Federal Student Aid will notify the TU Financial Aid Office. 

Obtain an Endorser

If you are unable to successfully appeal the credit decision, you may also find an endorser to co-sign your PLUS loan application. Choose an endorser with a strong credit history. 

  1. Your Endorser must log into studentaid.gov/endorser-addendum/ with their own FSA ID.
  2. Under PLUS Loan Process select Endorse a PLUS Loan.
  3. Enter the borrower's last name and the endorser code/award identification number the parent borrower received when denied the loan. 
  4. Fill out and submit Endorser Addendum.

Request Additional Unsubsidized Loans

If a parent is unable to appeal the credit decision or use an endorser, the student will become eligible to borrow additional unsubsidized loans based on the PLUS denial. 

  1. Submit a PLUS Denial — Request for Additional Unsub, found at Forms and Online Services.
  2. Students with 0-59 completed credits can request an additional $4,000 in unsubsidized loans for the financial aid year ($2,000/semester).
  3. Students with at least 60 completed credits can request an additional $5,000 in unsubsidized loans for the financial aid year ($2,500/semester).